Costume Chaos
by Itaweasel-hime
Summary: It all happened through a series of Halloweens. He met her, and gradually, fell harder every year. Nothing was ever simple. Non-massacre.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

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It was a dark, calm night in the Uchiha compound on Halloween. Itachi had barely registered the holiday, until he had been gifted little boxes and baggies of pumpkin-shaped cookies. Having just returned from an ANBU mission that afternoon, he had thankfully missed the first wave of kunoichi fans he had, and so he had not dealt with their insistent squealing for a majority of his day.

This happened every holiday, though he supposed the worst was _Valentine's Day. _No matter where he went, unless he had managed to land himself a mission, those irritating fangirls of his would somehow find a way to give him a useless trinket in a show of their affection, then confess their undying love for him. Itachi had had enough of their obsessive, constant attention. It was not as if he cared about any of them, or even knew their names. He doubted that they cared all that much for him either, or they would have learned to leave him alone.

He was glad that this Halloween, at least, his parents had gone on a business trip to negotiate with certain delegates of Kiri and Iwa, both villages having scapegoat Uchiha residing within their walls. Sasuke had gone with them, and so he had avoided enduring the awful spectacle of taking his younger brother trick-or-treating.

He had hoped rather than believed that he would get a relaxing, peaceful evening to himself. Apparently, it was too much to ask for, for him to get even _ten _minutes alone, for him to uncoil his tensed muscles, if but a little. No, though. Someone just _had _to knock on the front door the moment he closed his weary eyes in exhaustion, slumped outside by the bamboo fountain to find some inner serenity he had lost after the week-long mission.

Itachi sat up straight, turning his head to glare in the direction of the front door, praying to whatever god that would hear him that the fangirls who had come to haunt him in his own home would sense his killing intent, and run while they still had their lives. The soft pound of knuckles against wood repeated, however, and Itachi sighed. There truly was no escape.

Stretching with the finesse of a feline, Itachi grunted as the disks of his spinal cord popped into place. He stood, pulling his loose sweatpants up, and stuffed his hands into his pockets with an air of nonchalance, sauntering over to the door lazily. He clenched his teeth when that knocking repeated again, and slid the door open to stare out at...

Nothing.

"Trick or treat!" A small, quiet voice called out into the night, with a sense of bashfulness in its tone. It clearly belonged to a much younger girl.

Itachi looked down at the obviously, very confused little girl, astounded by how she had come into the dark, empty and wholly unwelcoming Uchiha compound with the prospect of getting sweets; the thought was ludicrous. She did not appear to be frightened by her being there, her ostentatiously pink hair sticking out like a sore thumb. She was dressed as what appeared to be some kind of western princess...with wings? He blinked for a moment, before meeting her cheerful, expectant gaze. She looked so unbelievably _happy, _even for a child of her age.

Itachi frowned. "I'm afraid that I don't have any sweets here." He told the girl, watching as her face dropped with disappointment. Her lower lips jutted out in a pitiful pout. Not even _that _could persuade Itachi to give her the dango he had picked up on the way home. As for the sweets he had been handed that afternoon; _now that was an idea. _

He could rid himself of the weighty confessions given to him earlier, and the pink-haired girl would get her treats. Smirking to himself at his own scheme, he told her, "Wait her a moment. I will be right back."

Sakura cocked her head to the side, bewildered by his quick change of mind. The older boy, Sasuke-kun's brother, disappeared into the traditionally built manor, assumedly to retrieve her treats. She felt giddy with excitement, because she would finally prove those bullies wrong. Even her, the girl everyone said was ugly because of her overly large forehead, could get the nice side out of an Uchiha. It was quite the feat, to a girl of only eight years.

She did have inside information, but those mean girls did not need to know that. She had been told since she was three that she was almost uncannily observant of her surroundings. She had seen, dozens of times, how kindly Sasuke-kun's brother treated him, and she had witnessed the older boy enter dango shops very often. If she knew two things about him, it was that he was benevolent, and he had a fearsome sweet-tooth.

Surely he would have sweets somewhere stashed in his house, since he liked them so much, and there was no way he could resist her, once she put on her puppy-eyes.

Itachi returned with a large, paper bag, all the cookies and candies he had been presented with during the day stored inside. Entertained by her joy at getting pointless treats, he held the bag out for her to chose. He watched the fairy-princess girl dig her hand through the mess of gifts, until she pulled out a nicely wrapped bag of sugar cookies.

To his further amusement, the girl brought the bag up to her nose for further inspection. She frowned however, as if finding it to be faulty. He quirked a charcoal eyebrow at the girl as she stared down at the orange packaging intently, wondering what she could have found as dissatisfying.

Curious, he plucked the bag from her smaller hands, understanding the moment he read the inscription written for him on the bag.

_My Dearest Itachi-sama,_

_My love for you burns as strong as the sun,_

_It lights the way in the darkest of nights,_

_It will last for all of eternity._

_Please accept me as your girlfriend._

_Forever yours,_

_Yoshiba Kimi_

Itachi was not sure if he wanted to laugh at the ridiculous proclamation, or gag at the thought that someone he had not known existed believed to _love _him.

"Is Yoshiba-san your girlfriend?" The poor, ignorant girl asked. Itachi's jaw tightened at the very notion.

"They all say something like that." Itachi muttered, indicating the paper bag of goodies. Sakura stared up at the older boy in shock.

"Then are they _all _your girlfriends?" She continued, confused by his indirect answer. Itachi shook his head tiredly.

"None of them are."

She seemed to wilt with relief at his answer. Clearly, the thought of him having so many girlfriends was disturbing to the young girl. Not that he could really blame her, it disturbed him as well. So, he knelt down to her level, and handed her the entire paper bag. She gaped at him, not understanding his sudden need to be freed of the endearment each gift represented. Cautiously, she took the bag from him, peering inside to get a better look. It was nearly full.

"But if I take this, then does it mean _I'm _your girlfriend?" She asked nervously, not liking the idea at all. Itachi had a hard time not laughing at her pained, disgusted expression.

He answered her question with one of his own. "Am I the only boy who will give you treats tonight?" She shook her head. "Do you think all of them are your boyfriends, just because they gave you candy?" He continued. Again, she confirmed his thoughts with a shake of her head. "Then what do you think?"

She smiled in a sweet, childish way. "You aren't my boyfriend." Itachi nodded his head in affirmation.

Reassured again, she turned to leave, now caring a pillowcase of candies and his paper bag.

"Thank you, Itachi-san!" She called in her departure, unable to see the quirk of his lips with her back turned. "Have something for me next year!" She added as an afterthought. Itachi chuckled a few times to himself.

* * *

The moment there was a knock on the front door, Itachi knew he had forgotten to get the little, pink-haired girl something for Halloween. This time, he was sitting at the dinner table, his entire family home for the event. Sasuke had deemed himself too _grown-up _to go trick-or-treating anymore, and so Itachi had almost completely forgotten the holiday itself, though he still had been given copious amounts of sweets in light of the occasion. Itachi supposed that the little girl would have to simply rid him of them again this year.

At fourteen years old, Itachi may have awoken the hormonal side to himself, but he was not so easily distracted. His duties as a shinobi were much more vital than the wiles of hopeless girls who would rather stalk him than complete their training. Most of his groupies were his age, and because of their lack of discipline, almost all genin as well. He tried to ignore them, and succeeded for the most part, but when it was hot as hell outside, and he was training in that smoldering heat, he wanted to be able to peel his shirt from his sweaty back without hearing screams of delight.

Already, his father was giving him lectures to court an acceptable woman by a certain age (by the time he was twenty-five, he was expected to have a wife, and a child already on the way). The very thought of being tied down to a clingy, obsessed woman sent shivers of trepidation down his spine. He may have only been fourteen, but he knew that was not something he would ever desire.

Itachi sighed, clearing his mind of whatever disturbing thought he had, and stood, excusing himself from the table. "I will return in a moment," he stated, bowing respectfully to his mother and father. They nodded, already used to his odd behavior. Sasuke frowned however, as he watched his brother exit the cozy kitchen, only half of his dinner eaten. His parents made nothing of it though, and so this time, Sasuke would not question his older brother's unusual actions.

An even heavier bag of cookies and various other treats in hand, Itachi opened the front door to be greeted by a pink-haired sailor girl. As he expected. He grinned down at her in his mirth, noticing another little girl, this one with blond hair, following behind.

"Itachi-san!" She called with enthusiasm, to his further entertainment, the blond girl looking shocked by her friend's audacity. "Trick or treat!" she laughed, holding out her pillowcase. The other girl looked rather unconfident, but he assumed that was because he knew her reputation.

"Good thing you came, because I got a lot more this year than last." He commented softly, signaling the two children forward. The blond one, who he realizes is dressed similarly to how the pink-haired one the previous year, seems to be in awe of him. They both held their cases out, and he poured his gifts into them as evenly as he could. Grinning, he patted the girl's head.

"What is your name?" He asked. The girl narrowed her eyes in suspicion, leaving him the impression that her parents, or some other authoritative person in her life, had warned her to never give her name to strangers.

"Haruno Sakura." She finally replied slowly, obviously trusting him enough to give away her identity.

He nodded his head, determined to remember her name. It was very fitting, considering the color of her hair. "Well, then, Sakura-san. Be sure to come again next year." He said, watching as she suppressed the urge to jump up and down, then started to run off to where ever else she went for Halloween.

"I'll be back, Itachi-san!" She shouted, dragging her bewildered friend behind her. He chuckled to himself.

* * *

This time, he was completely prepared for Sakura to show up. He had found out from his own, curious research, that she was the same age as his little brother, and a student at the Ninja Academy. So, when young Haruno Sakura appeared at his front door for the third time, her friend from the previous year scarce, he allowed himself to chuckle at her costume.

She was dressed this time as a kunoichi, a face mask obscuring her grin, and a large, jonin vest hanging almost to her knees. What had to be most comical about this scene was that at her age, he had been wearing a vest such as this one, though perhaps in his own size.

She ripped the facial mask down to show off a bright row of pearly, white teeth. So, he gave her a heavy bag of treats, that had already been waiting by the door for her. She gladly accepted the candy, giving her trademark giggle of thanks, before dashing off as she always did.

* * *

Itachi had stayed up late, waiting for the little girl to show up to get her treats. It saddened him to think he had lost the closest thing he had to a friend besides Shisui, but it seemed now even she was too old to be trick-or-treating. He decided this was fine, though he wished she had given him some sort of warning, so he did not have to stay up half the night, waiting for her to materialize on his front porch.

Itachi wondered if he would ever see the little girl again.

* * *

Sakura felt guilty to an extreme. She knew that she should not have kept up her tradition of visiting Itachi every Halloween, but something had prevented her from seeing him. He was Sasuke-kun's brother. She may have been fifteen now, making Itachi twenty, but at eleven, she had been foolish enough to make the vital mistake of falling for Sasuke. Thankfully, she had grown out of that fad quickly, with the help of graduating from the Academy and having him on her genin team. He had been a complete asshole, and nothing she would ever want in a prospective partner.

She had finally grown into a woman, after training further with the Hokage, Tsunade, and becoming a full-fledged medic. Sakura had gained something more than just knowledge, but also respect. The best thing about being apprentice to the Godaime Hokage, however, was the information she could easily get. Not that she would ever use it for ill purposes, as Tsunade already was aware, but she had been intrigued.

Uchiha Itachi, the boy she had visited annually on Halloween for three years in a row, was in serious danger. She had grown something akin to a crush on the older shinobi, and as the holiday began to near again, Sakura was becoming more, and more bothered by the thought of him. He probably did not remember the silly little girl who had come to trick-or-treat in the Uchiha compound. Itachi was likely to know her as Sasuke's teammate, and nothing more.

This was fine with her, because Sakura decided she was going to jog his memory. To say she was nervous would be an understatement, but she steeled herself, slipping into the dark of night to visit him in the compound. Village children were snickering with each other and running about, collecting their treats as they did every year. With her empty pillowcase in hand, she walked alone, stopping only when she had reached the front of his house.

Biting her lips to steady herself, she knocked the door.

Itachi stilled at the very sound, various memories he had tried to forget flooding back into the front of his mind. He did not want to hope that it was really Sakura returning to visit, but he could not think of another person that would come at this time of night. As he had been on that first Halloween, Itachi was sitting out by the bamboo fountain in the yard, this time his younger brother lounging with him, nursing a cup of steaming, green tea.

Sasuke frowned, already knowing who it was by her chakra signature, and he honestly did not want to answer it. Much to his surprise, his brother shifted, as if to stand up and face the kunoichi. He watched as Itachi stalked from the balcony, and disappeared into the house to get to the door. He was slightly inquisitive as to why Itachi had felt the need to speak with _his _kunoichi teammate, but was way too comfortable to get up from his post.

Itachi gritted his teeth in a twinge of annoyance, wondering why Sakura had decided to come now, after all those years of ignoring him. He opened the door then, having every intention in finding the answer to this. She was standing there shyly, an older version of the adorable girl who had come to rid him of his pointless gifts. Unfortunately, those fangirls had learned that he would never accept them, and only admired from afar. He was no longer given things every holiday.

Those bright, innocently green eyes met with his cold, meticulous, onyx ones. "Happy Halloween, Itachi-san." She murmured softly, looking away, as if afraid to meet his gaze.

"I have nothing to give you, Sakura-san." He replied just as quietly. "I should think you would know that."

Sakura blushed, trying to ignore the weight of his stare as he took in her new, developed figure. As the silence went on, Sakura began to wonder if this was the best thing for her to do. Clearly, Itachi was not as willing to forgive her for her childish mistake, and so there was nothing else she could do.

"I really don't think that, Itachi-san." Sakura breathed, taking a step closer to him. Confused by this statement, he gaped down at her. After what had felt like eternity, she had pressed her smaller form into his, then slowly reached up to-

Impatient, Itachi took her hint, and possessively dove his mouth to hers, claiming it as his own in a searing kiss. She mewled as he pulled her even closer into him, reaching her arms up, and around his neck. He supposed she had been right after all, he still did have something he could give to her, as long as she could agree to be forever. He would not readily accept something less.

Unbeknownst to the pair, Sasuke had grown curious after Itachi had not come back, having either brought Sakura to him, or sent her on her way. Sighing to himself, Sasuke got to his feet, muttering quietly as he sauntered into the house with every intention in finding out what was taking them so long. He did not have to go far to figuring out what they had been up to.

The duo stumbled blindly through the kitchen area, heading in the direction of the stairs, their lips locked in a heated kiss. Sasuke did not like the sight of his teammate, a girl he had come to trust with his very life, making out with his older brother, and made it known to them as well, clearing his throat. They froze, predictably enough, grunting and moaning as they broke away from each other to stare at him.

Sasuke crossed his arms angrily, glaring at them in hopes of getting some sort of explanation. Neither had any inclination to elaborate to Sasuke on their unusual relations, and the sexual tension between them grew as the seconds ticked by in the awkward silence.

Now Sasuke was starting to feel even more uncomfortable with the situation he had, quite literally, walked in on. Their stares were boring into him, and he knew it would not relent until he left. Much less confident in himself than when he had set out to get them, Sasuke backed out, allowing them to continue.

He regretted it for at least an hour after that, because as soon as he had excused them, they had fumbled up to Itachi's room, and he had heard the entire event of his brother violently deflowering sweet, innocent Sakura. He was so glad his parents had not been there to hear it as well, because the last thing he wanted them to start saying was grandchildren were on the way.

* * *

No way in hell. He was _not _going out in public wearing such a ludicrous costume, let alone exit the bathroom. Twenty-four year old Itachi loved Sakura, almost to the point of a sickening obsession, but this was just one thing he could not do for her. That would be go out on Halloween, or any night, for that matter, dressed up as a less than satisfactory pirate. It just was not right, and it was best Sakura learned it now.

Unfortunately for him, his dearest would not let him out of it so easily. "Come on, Itachi! You've been staring at yourself in the mirror since six-thirty! I know you're sexy, but that seems a little much, don't you think?" He heard Sakura call from the other side of the bathroom door. He grimaced, not even wanting her to see him dressed so unusually.

"I have only been in here for ten minutes." He grumbled back, more to himself than her. Thank whoever was watching out for him that she did not here him say that. She would have knocked down the damned door.

Grudgingly, Itachi resigned to his pitiful fate, and slide the door open, presenting his beloved, pregnant wife with an amusing sight. She snickered softly, tugging his shirt and coat this way, then that, until she was satisfied with his appearance. Itachi, however, was far from being pleased with what he was wearing, even when she retied the sash around his narrow hips, and kissed his cheek lovingly.

The sad thing was, Sakura knew she could get away with anything she did. She was pregnant, heavy with his child, and prone to violent mood-swings, terrifying even to him. With her long, black dress swishing around her feet (she was a witch this year) Sakura took his hand and led the poor man out of the house and into the dark, cruel world to be humiliated for her amusement.

It was fine though, Itachi thought, his lovely wife tugging him down the street by his wrist. He surrendered, deciding it would be best if his pregnant, moody mate did _not _have a yelling fit because of his resistance. Smirking to himself, he inched closer to the curvaceous, flourishing woman, tipping her witch hat back to nuzzle her neck.

"Now, this isn't so bad, is it, Itachi?" She asked with a giggle. He grunted in response to her question, not wanting to admit that it was rather enjoyable to take an evening walk with her, even if he looked ridiculous. "And it's good practice for when the baby is born." She continued, smiling softly as she gazed down at her rounded abdomen, her hand resting gently on the place their child was growing.

Itachi froze for a millisecond. He did not have the heart to tell his potentially hostile, hormonally overrun lover that he had no immediate plans in dressing up again, even for the sake of their unborn child. This had always been _her _thing, so he prayed silently that she would understand this when he explained later. After she gave birth. When she was no longer so unbelievably violent in temper.

Yes, that was a good idea.

* * *

"Itachi, I will drag you out of that bathroom if I have to!" Sakura shouted with frustration, pounding her versatile fists on the door. He flinched at the sound of wood splintering, but paid no heed to his temperamental wife. He had managed to get out of this for seven wonderful years, but now he stood again, in front of the mirror, wearing a costume. This time, at least, she had given him more options, but not by much. So, Count Dracula it was.

He felt like such a fool. Again.

Before Sakura could cause permanent damage to the door however, Itachi forced himself to open it for a moment, then pull the woman in with him. "I am _not _leaving the perimeters of this house dressed like this, Sakura." He seethed, glaring down at his petite woman. He then realized she was dressed as her infamous teacher, Tsunade-sama.

Forgetting his own problems momentarily, he stared at her outfit, noting that her _assets _looked much fuller than usual. Bewildered by this, he tugged the shirt open more than it already was, just barely catching the water-balloons that had been stuffed inside to imitate her chesty shishou as they fell. He gave her an amused look before handing them back to his blushing wife.

"Good. Now you can laugh your ass of at me, and we can _go." _She urged, straightening his cape to drag his attention from her flushed cheeks.

"Not going to happen, Sakura. I refuse."

"Fine, then Itachi. I will just remind you that at the same age of our dearest, lovely daughter, I had met a flustered, little, thirteen year old, ANBU boy with an overload of Halloween treats, and had later married him. What do you think of that?" She snickered, watching as his Sharingan instinctively switched on. She always had known the best things to say.

"I'm not letting that happen." He growled, dragging Sakura from the bathroom this time, having every intention in protecting his poor, innocent daughter from prospective suitors. Sakura smiled smugly, having gotten him to do just as she wanted.

* * *

_The End_

**AN: Halloween randomness. Yup, one of my fav holidays, so I thought I could celebrate it this year with a little ItaSaku. **


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